


Galaxy

by sputnik



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, One Shot, mentioned Erwin Smith/Nile Dawk, polyship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-25 11:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4957933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sputnik/pseuds/sputnik
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one expected Nile to have faint beautiful marks on his body. Not even his boyfriends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Galaxy

There was something about Nile that caught his attention that day.

It wasn’t like Nile wasn’t standing out before that day - Nile had always been the loudest and the least neat in the house. His voice was always booming when he wakes up late for his work shift, or if he had to find something he had just misplaced. His presence couldn’t be easily ignored either; being the shortest and the one and only dark-haired person living in the apartment shared with two other blond men.

It wasn’t his messy hair, or the fact that he hadn’t bathed yet. Or perhaps it was the way he was holding the newspaper in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate on the other? No, it couldn’t be. Oh, or was it the purple sweater that was way too big for Nile and eventually had its collar slouching; exposing the man’s left shoulder.

No, that couldn’t be it either.

But...maybe. Maybe it was. If it hadn’t been for the sweater’s sly droop and Nile’s zero attempt to pull up the collar back to where it should be, Mike wouldn’t have realized the existence of those tiny dots on Nile’s shoulder, shading a slightly darker colour than Nile’s overall skin.

Are those...freckles?

Mike continued to stare at them, making sure it wasn’t his sleepy eyes that were playing tricks on him. He knew he wasn’t drunk or dizzy either; the last time he downed a vodka shot, he got his hangover relieved with a bit of rough bed play with Nile, to which Nile never talked to him for three days straight as a punishment for making his rear too sore. 

He stepped closer to the dark-haired man, unaware that he was almost tip-toeing to avoid any further noise, though it shouldn’t have mattered. Once he was a feet away from the back of the chair Nile was sitting on, Nile simply put down the newspaper and the half-filled mug onto the table top, and turned around; looking at Mike straight in the eyes in the most unsurprising way.

“You do know I’m not ticklish, right? Which, in other words, sneaking from behind me for some tickles or whatever is not going to work...Mike.”

The taller man froze up; setting a rather comical posture and expression like a small kid who just got caught by his parents for stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Mike cleared his throat and straightened up, dusting off his pyjamas out of embarrassment. How could have he forgotten that Nile was always the person who is easily cognisant of his surroundings without trying too hard…

“No…I was…I was just…well, I noticed your uhh…your shoulder. The left one. It’s exposed.”

“What?” Nile ran his fingers over his uncovered skin, doubting that it was too explicit to be catching his partner’s eyes that morning. 

But perhaps it was? 

Nile was about to apologise and pull the loose collar of his sweater up, when Mike’s large hand, grabbed his wrist; stopping him from doing so. “Don’t! I mean…it’s fine. It’s not a big deal. No, actually it was. Sort of…”

“Is it possible if I request a more subtle, franker explanation? Unless, of course, you’re drunk at seven in the morning…” 

Mike hesitated for a moment, but after taking in one deep breath, he blurted out; hoping it wouldn’t sound too offending or too eager.

“You have freckles.”

“…freckles?” Nile gave a questioning look; almost bringing Mike into the realm of anxiety again. But then, he smiled and shrugged nonchalantly before Mike’s edginess settled in.

“I’ve always had freckles. Here on my shoulder…I got some on my back, too.” The raven-haired man proved it by pulling the tail of his sweater up to reveal his bare back, and sure enough, there were dark miniscule spots that tailed from the nape of his neck down to the end of his shoulder blades.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know…?” Nile questioned, somewhat amused at this tiny revelation.

“Umm…no…”

“What? You and Erwin spent every night with a shirtless me on bed, and you didn’t – wait, does Erwin know about my freckles?”

“He never actually mentioned about it…well, in defence, our apartment can be really dim at night, even with the lights on…and…your freckles aren’t that clear…”

Mike braced for any form of disappointment from Nile. After all, his excuses weren’t solid enough, and Nile doesn’t take excuses lightly. The tall blond man nearly cringed in fear from the thought of hearing Nile distressing about the matter for hours, or worse yet; completely ignore him (and Erwin, too, unfortunately) for the rest of the day.

To his surprise, Nile simply stood up and scratched the back of his head, making his hair even more unruly than it was before. The smile returned softly back on his lips. 

“You’re right. Those tiny dots aren’t that clear. See?” Nile pulled up his sleeves to the elbow and displayed the skin to his partner. There were freckles on his arms, though, unlike the ones on his shoulders, they were even fainter. Almost blending in with his natural skin colour. Mike had to squint a bit too, to actually notice them. “I guess I shouldn’t really blame you guys for not saying a thing about it since we first met.”

Mike carefully caressed the darker spots on Nile’s arm, more or less imagining them like stars in the fading night sky. As he was about to say something, maybe praising the hidden beauty of his lover, Nile spoke again.

“I have some on my face too. Right under my eyes. Right here.” He emphasised by pressing his index fingers on the mounts of his cheekbones. “You have to come closer, though. These freckles are really, really indistinct.”

The taller man obeyed and leaned in closer. He narrowed his eyes more; making them nearly disappear behind thick eyelashes; as he tried to note the marks that he hadn’t perceived earlier. 

“Ah…I can’t see anything…”

“Closer, Mike.”

“Seriously, Nile…I can’t see – maybe if you face the window and let the light hit–”

“I said, closer.”

Mike sighed and stepped even nearer; almost touching noses with his partner. But before he could carefully observe Nile’s face and make a comment out of it, Nile’s lips met his in a brief, naughty way. It took a few seconds for Mike to realize what was going on. When the dark haired inched back from the kiss, Mike took the chance to lick on his dry lips; trying to see if the taste of the cocoa that Nile had drunk was real, or if he was just imagining things.

Then, Nile kissed him again.

For the tall blond man, the kiss was much unexpected, nonetheless very much welcomed. The mix of the sweet chocolate on Nile’s lips blending in with the minty aftertaste of his mouthwash gave him a feeling like he was kissing the stars; so beautiful, so intimate. As Mike closed his eyes, he was nearly convinced he had kissed the galaxy instead. 

He wanted to hold on Nile’s lanky frame and deepen the kiss, maybe prolong the make out session if it was consented to do so, but before Mike could do any of these, Nile retreated for the second time. 

Nile smiled widely at the other, with a child-like triumph shining in his eyes.

“Hehe. Got you!”

Mike slowly opened his eyes at the sound of Nile’s playful voice. And that was when he noticed it.

It could have been a coincidence that his senses had doubled, maybe tripled, after the sweet kiss on his lips that made him finally see the freckles clearly on Nile’s face. Like isolated stars they stretched across from one cheekbone to the other, jumping faintly on the bridge of Nile’s nose and complimenting Nile’s cheeky yet beautiful smile. 

Truly, Mike was kissing the galaxy after all.

**Author's Note:**

> ps: This is mainly based on my own headcanon that Nile Dawk has freckles (I often see him as a fair-skinned person for a number of reasons) and that, in a modern au, he is in a polyamourous relationship with Mike and Erwin. There was supposed to be a short part where Erwin joined Mike to admire Nile's freckles, but I got uninspired to write it. I hope this is sufficient enough to send my ideas across.
> 
> Hoping to write more about MikeNai, or Nile and his pairings in general! :))) 
> 
> pps: cheeky nile is love ♥


End file.
